BLACKCAPS V AFGHANISTAN MATCH ABANDONED DUE TO RAIN
11:20pm - And that's it, the match has been abandoned! The rain has only gotten worse, so the umpires have called it off. Blackcaps will be disappointed, but that's cricket.
11pm - Inspection due now but the covers are once again returning after briefly coming off 10 or so minutes ago. Rain continues to hammer down at Melbourne.
10:38pm - Next inspection is at 11pm, but word is more rain is on the way. Looking more and more unlikely we'll get a game tonight.
10:20pm - More heavy rain now unfortunately and the covers have returned. Fast losing more and more overs with no sign of the rain clearing.
10:08pm - Seems covers are still on, and we're now going to start losing overs. Next inspection is at 10:20pm, hopefully it's good news.
9:50pm - Still no indication when or if there will be a toss. Covers are slowing coming off, and the umpires are inspecting, but still nothing beyond that. We'll start to lose overs soon.
9:20pm - Covers are still on the field as the rain continues to hammer down at the MCG. Overs will need to be deducted if it continues.
8:55pm - The umpires in the England v Ireland game have called it out! Ireland pull off stunning victory, winning by 5 runs DLS. Hopefully it means we get further updates on the Blackcaps.
8:45pm - Welcome and thank you for joining us. Unfortunately, the toss has been delayed as the earlier game of England v Ireland is still going, and what's even more bad news - they're making their way off the field as the Melbourne rain buckets down. Still six overs to go too.
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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the T20 World Cup pool clash between New Zealand and Afghanistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Blackcaps got their tournament off to a dream start, with an 89-run win over hosts Australia in a rematch of last year's World Cup finalists.
Openers Finn Allen and Devon Conway excelled with the bat, Tim Southee wove his magic with the ball and Glenn Phillips took a catch that had him compared to 'Superman'.
The results has them poised to progress to the tournament semi-finals, but it's only one result and they know they can't waste it with a slip against relatively unfancied Afghanistan, one of the game's big improvers in recent years.
The Blackcaps will be encouraged to have all-rounder Daryl Mitchell available, after he played a starring role at the 2021 event.
Weather in Melbourne is overcast and if NZ had to share points with their opponents from a rain-enforced draw, that would be disastrous.
Join us at 8:30pm for the toss.
TAB Odds: NZ $1.17, Afghanistan $4.55
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson
Afghanistan: Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Usman Ghani, Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid, Mohammad Nabi, Azmat Omarzai, Mujeeb Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Saleem Safi, Najib Zadran, Ibrahim Zadran, Hazrat Zazai
Blackcaps welcome Mitchell back from injury for Afghanistan World Cup clash
By Alex Powell
Blackcaps all-rounder Daryl Mitchell will be available to face Afghanistan at the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday, after passing fit at Melbourne.
Mitchell, 31, was in a race to pass fit for the tournament, after breaking a finger during training for New Zealand's tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
After more than two weeks on the sidelines, he has been cleared by coach Gary Stead to make his return - if selected to face Afghanistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
"Daryl's trained the last two days, and come through both fielding and batting really really well," Stead said.
"We'll just wait and see how he scrubs up tomorrow morning to make a final call, but at this stage, it's looking like he'll be available for selection, so we'll have a full squad of 15 players to be available to select from."
Mitchell wasn't needed in the Blackcaps' opening win - an 89-run demolition of hosts Australia at Sydney - with his place taken by Mark Chapman, but his return will be a no-brainer for selectors, as arguably the find of last year's tournament in the UAE.
Thrust into the opening slot alongside Martin Guptill, Mitchell scored 208 runs at an average of 34.66 on New Zealand's run to the final, including an unbeaten 72 to lead them to a semi-final victory over England.
Only captain Kane Williamson (216) scored more runs at the tournament than Mitchell.
In 2022, Mitchell has become a middle-order rock in all formats, filling the void left by Ross Taylor, after his retirement earlier this year.
New Zealand face Afghanistan in a T20 for only the second time, with their one previous meeting resulting in an eight-wicket win at last year's World Cup.
